UK yank-tank lover confessing it for the first time
 

Hey there. UK member driving a 1991 Proton and a 1990 Volvo 740. Previous cars include 1977 Ford Capri, 1983 Mercedes 200 (W123), 1984 Jaguar XJS (worth avoiding), 1989 Fiat X1/9 (also a complete ****ter) and another Volvo 740. I'm not technophobic, just enjoy the look, sound and feel of older cars more.

I'd like to begin my membership with a confession - I like yank-tanks. Alright fine, I LOVE yank-tanks.

That's OK, I love them too. I learned to drive on a 1980 Pontiac Bonneville Safari station wagon (Estate Car in the UK). I used to say it was so big that I could take 10 of my closest friends to the mall. I think the most people we ever packed in it was 15.

Oh, hello gents, I believe we are going to be good friends. I drive a 1977 Mercury Cougar, and have previously owned a 1986 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, a '96 Mercury Grand Marquis, and a 1963 Impala. Yank tanks are the best. Except on gas. 9-11 U.S. MPG is very painful sometimes.

You should be able to do much better than 9-11 with your '77 and '86, if not the '63. The '96 should beat all of them easily.

The engine has, at the very least, worn main bearings. I plan on doing either a rebuild or a swap as soon as it is financially viable.

When I had them the other cars got, on average:

96 Grand Marquis: 25 MPG highway 20 city
86 Cadillac: 21 highway 15-18 city depending on traffic
63 impala : 13 in the city, 16 highway. got 20 mpg once going from Lousisana to Florida

This Cougar has never done better than 11 and I think it is due to neglect by previous owners. The engine had an unbelievable amount of sludge, among other things.

Oh, yeah that's a different story. Bummer. :(